We are number 1 right? USA! USA! No one can beat our wealth creation machine, our economic dynamism, our level playing field and our bastions of higher education. We have a middle class that is the envy of the world, right?

Well, like so much of the “American dream” we have been force fed for a generation or more, this perception is not based in reality whatsoever. Sure it may have been the case for a couple of decades immediately after World War 2. Before the military-industrial-Wall Street complex fully took over the political process, but it certainly isn’t true any longer. Myths die hard and this one is particularly pernicious because it prevents people from changing things. As James Baldwin said:

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

From the Huffington Post:

America is the richest country on Earth. We have the most millionaires, the most billionaires and our wealthiest citizens have garnered more of the planet’s riches than any other group in the world. We even have hedge fund managers who make in one hour as much as the average family makes in 21 years!

This opulence is supposed to trickle down to the rest of us, improving the lives of everyday Americans. At least that’s what free-market cheerleaders repeatedly promise us.

Unfortunately, it’s a lie, one of the biggest ever perpetrated on the American people.

Our middle class is falling further and further behind in comparison to the rest of the world. We keep hearing that America is number one. Well, when it comes to middle-class wealth, we’re number 27.

The most telling comparative measurement is median wealth (per adult). It describes the amount of wealth accumulated by the person precisely in the middle of the wealth distribution — fifty percent of the adult population has more wealth, while fifty percent has less. You can’t get more middle than that.

LARGE GRAPH HERE IN LINK (that would not post here) ... THAT SHOWS THE COUNTRIES AND THEIR MIDDLE CLASS WEALTH DISTRIBUTION...... (This graph, on the link, will wake you up when you see the numbers ... ).

The Huffington Post also provides a list as to why this is the case. While I don’t agree with all of them, I agree with most. Here are a few:

Wall Street is out of control.
Higher education puts our kids into debt.
It’s hard to improve your station in life if you’re in prison.
Our tax structures favor the rich.
The wealthy dominate politics and the media.
They go on to correctly note:

Is there one cause of the middle-class collapse that rises above all others?

Yes. The International Labor organization produced a remarkable study, (Global Wage Report 2012-13) that sorts out the causes of why wages have remained stagnant while elite incomes have soared. The report compares key causal explanations like declining bargaining power of unions, porous social safety nets, globalization, new technologies and financialization.

Guess which one had the biggest impact on the growing split between the one percent and the 99 percent?

..........................

PS ... I read conservative, liberal and middle of the road publications and this is about the "best & most concise article" on the middle class that I have seen recently.

For the longest time they wave the flag of #1 and such. Meanwhile the middle class loses its money because they believe whatever we're told.
Like buy a car and show your independence, jee who wins on car sales.
Furthermore, excellent cobble and brick roads were covered in pavement with about a 10 yr life that has to be replaced more often... yay who wins.. big business again.
I'm all for a good idea making money, but the lies and dupes to harvest our dollars is ridiculous.
Step back and watch the ads on TV, our middle class is all but illiterate in economics.... hell we use cartoons to sell serious drugs even. Car ads cater to "you" standing out in a crowd... with a car model of 200,000 a year.
In the end it seems to be a partnership, big money takes more, and a relatively uninformed middle class that believes all the flattery. I bet the top 15 have a better informed public.

Two class society. The extraordinarily rich and everyone else. It's not just coming - it's here.

I was shocked when my dad said this was coming almost fifteen years ago, although I found it hard to disagree with. But I'll say this, I had no idea how right he was. I don't think he did either.

I was saying that about that same time..and I was in my early 20's but could still see it. That said I'll agree that it was more on target than I thought at the time.

I say that in reference to my earlier post, everyone is the same. Whether that means everyone is dirt poor broke or makes $100k a year, you're still nowhere near that extraordinarily rich and will always be poor in that system.

The Huffington Post also provides a list as to why this is the case. While I donít agree with all of them, I agree with most. Here are a few:

Wall Street is out of control.
Higher education puts our kids into debt.
Itís hard to improve your station in life if youíre in prison.
Our tax structures favor the rich.
The wealthy dominate politics and the media.

The Huffington Post also provides a list as to why this is the case. While I donít agree with all of them, I agree with most. Here are a few:

Wall Street is out of control.
Higher education puts our kids into debt.
Itís hard to improve your station in life if youíre in prison.
Our tax structures favor the rich.
The wealthy dominate politics and the media.

I like this one the best:

Itís hard to improve your station in life if youíre in prison.

Wonder who they interviewed for that gem???

I believe the U.S. has the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world.

I believe the U.S. has the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world.

... ^^^ ... Yes, and it is becoming VERY expensive.

Also, private prisons (started out mainly for illegals) have become very profitable for some in corporate American. There was a special on TV on US "Private Prisons" in the west and how they are ripping off taxpayers (many were now more expensive than traditional gov't run prisons) and how they really got started over 10 years ago and have flourished since then.
.

The Huffington Post also provides a list as to why this is the case. While I donít agree with all of them, I agree with most. Here are a few:

Wall Street is out of control.
Higher education puts our kids into debt.
Itís hard to improve your station in life if youíre in prison.
Our tax structures favor the rich.
The wealthy dominate politics and the media.

I like this one the best:

Itís hard to improve your station in life if youíre in prison.

Ariana Huffington is a huge Lib...That being said, higher education is problem, but if you drop $100k on an art history degree at a private school, its your dumb fucking fault for putting yourself in that situation. So many people drop crazy amounts in college not even thinking about the consequences. My S in Law, art degree, works at Pets mart, is a hipster, blames the rich on her being poor. WTF did you expect to do with that degree? Too many young kids fall into that. It has always been that if you want to be more financially stable, create something or a business. Working for the man is not going to get you rich.
Wonder who they interviewed for that gem???

Sometimes it's better to be boring. My Business degree doesn't exactly make millions, but I'm not so specialized that I can't find gainful employment like your example Sammy.

That and people spend a fortune on degrees that don't have to sometimes. I spent about $5k getting my Associates, still not free but I went to a community college and lived at home versus going to an expensive school and living on campus. My sister spent about $40k on 2 years of school and never even got a 2 year degree to show for it.